LAHINCH Seaworld and Leisure Centre will open its doors for the first time in two and a half years, after extensive input from the local community.

The board of directors made the decision to close in December 2019, just before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, to find the investment needed to enhance the facility.

Eoin Conlan, manager at the centre, emphasised the importance of Clare County Council in getting the facility up and running again, as well as a range of philanthropic donations to that end.

He said, “Pat Dowling and all his team, with other local councillors, made funds available for us. Roughly €6 million has gone into the facility in the last two years, and the massive community effort came as much from the local businesses and the regular people.”

One feature which the local community asked for was a learning pool, because of the lack of a communal pool in Lahinch; campaigns began to surface on social media and on radio to make this desire a reality. The learning pool is now installed and can be used as soon as the doors open this Friday, April 22.

Eoin added that facilities such as the one that has been built are needed all across west and north Clare, stretching from Cooraclare to Ballyvaughan. One amenity he noted as particularly state-of-the-art was the new and improved gymnasium.

“It’s all high-quality equipment, and it’s split into two floors. On the ground floor we have the more dynamic exercise and training weights, everything from kettle bells to free weights to cable machines. Upstairs, we have the cardio section, with huge space to move around in overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.”

The leisure centre has a clutch of new employees hired ahead of the opening day, and Eoin is confident that the new systems put in place for the staff will be quickly learned before the busier periods during the summer.

The centre will be open from 9am to 6:45pm for the first few weeks back, however will open up further in May, when it will return to its usual hours from 6:30am to 9:45pm from Monday to Friday, with weekends planned to open up in June.

Eoin hopes to hold an official opening day in June, when the facility is running at full capacity, with all the local community groups present and lots of activities to take part in on the day.

He outlined, “Our goal is to place health at the heart of the community, even our logo is heart related. It’s all about that sense of community that exists in Northwest Clare.

“There are so many places that need a facility like this, even in mid-Clare, in Inagh and Kilnamona. This place is for everybody, from the six-month-old going for their first swim to the 80-year-old attending fitness classes.”

The facility promises to cater to a broad range of customers, from those just trying to stay fit and healthy to those working strength back into injured limbs, to others who just want to relax in the sauna. Eoin hopes the local clubs will also make as much use as they can of the leisure centre.

He touched on how important wellbeing and mental health is in our post-pandemic world, emphasising that the benefits exercise can have on such things is “beyond amazing”.

To give the people of the area a venue to help themselves is another goal at the centre.

Another interesting feature of the new facility is its commitment to renewable energy and its reduction of the carbon footprint.

Eoin explained, “We were once very heavily fossil fuel-oriented, but we now operate on a system of geo-thermal heat pumps and wood pellet boilers.

“There are no fossil fuels being used at all to heat the facility or the pool areas – we have about 120 solar panels as well. On a good day, we add back into the grid for energy use with those. These days, everyone is conscious of what they are using and how they can make the environment safer for future generations, so we’ve gone completely green. We want to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Doolin Hotel and The Falls and attempt to go carbon neutral.”

Eoin attributed this success to the timing of their closure in 2019, as this lull gave the board of directors time to structure their plans while lockdown was in effect.

He paid homage to the astronomical hours worked by all those involved, including fundraisers and volunteers, praising their commitment throughout the process.